For the first time in anyone’s memory around here, Assembly Democratic Majority Speaker Sheldon Silver came into the LCA pressroom for a quick scrum on budget negotiations earlier Thursday. We’re all a bit unsure precisely what that means, although some suggested Silver was underscoring the importance of the New York City charter school fight.

Mostly though Silver signaled that, with the Senate still in conference and potentially hours away from coming up with their budget resolution (which the Assembly completed earlier in the week), talks in earnest may not pick up again until Monday.

“I don’t know if we actually accomplish anything…by doing it tomorrow (Friday) as opposed to Monday,” Silver said, referring to the task of setting up joint budget conference committees and the so-called Mother Ship to oversee them.

At the same time Gov. Andrew Cuomo put out a release reiterating what he views as his budget priorities.

From Cuomo:

“Now that the legislature’s one house budget resolutions are being completed, real discussions can begin.

The main budget issue will be whether we have the will to do what is politically difficult and attack the waste and duplication of local governments that drive up property taxes. Property taxes are the single largest and most devastating tax in our state. I understand the pressure from local officials who want a ‘business as usual’ approach, but I also understand the crushing burden of these property taxes on homeowners across New York. Providing a state subsidy as a bandage to temporarily alleviate the pain of ever rising property taxes is the kind of short sighted approach we left behind three years ago. We must reduce the dysfunction and waste – not enable and subsidize it.

The future of charter schools must be protected in this budget, and I will fight to ensure that it is. Reforms to Common Core must be enacted to ensure that our students are not unfairly harmed by its implementation.

As we have said from the beginning, Pre-k funding will ultimately be determined by each individual school district’s actual ability to create an eligible program on a timely basis. Once it is determined that a plan is operational, the state will meet the locality’s need to that amount.

The Public Trust Act, including Public Campaign Financing, is a priority and is included in the budget negotiations.

I look forward to a budget that is fiscally sound, delivers real property tax relief to struggling homeowners, strengthens our education system for every child statewide, and creates a stronger, fairer, more progressive New York.”

Again Cuomo is trying to use Charter Schools and UPK as a diversion to keep people distracted from the hard question he does not want to try to explain to the public, “How can you declare a surplus and call for tax cuts when you lack a surplus unless you hold back $1.3B in school funding that was promised to school districts by a court settlement.” When Cuomo starts to spout off about the property tax being onerous citizens need to be reminded that the state has reduced their share of education costs from almost 50% to less than 40%–placing great pressure upon local taxes.

As a City of Albany taxpayer I already support the charter school movement excessively. I do not want one dime of state taxes to pay for charter schools when the current financing structure has local school taxes also supporting them. For Cuomo to stand with the charter demonstrators and discuss the need to support linked to democracy was outlandish! Let’s talk democracy – if the charter movement was based upon democratic philosophies then the school board members that are elected by the people would have a say in whether another charter school opens or if failing schools should continue to be supported with resident tax dollars. This is taxation without representation and there is nothing democratic about the process at all. Is state money only going to help NYC charters or all across the state? Have we seen a figure for this or details? Is this going to reduce my school taxes? If not, then I want no part of it and think it’s absurd that I will be paying to also help NYC charters. What about using this money to help public schools statewide? Keep underfunding them and giving charters more will be the death of public education. Give us a break!!!

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